Golden Goblin

Serena and I wandered aimlessly through the first floor of the labyrinth.

Hah. If I'd known it would come to this…

I should've at least dug through that crossbow bitch's clothes for a map.

They say corpses in the labyrinth get swallowed by the abyss after enough time passes. Even if I went back to where I'd taken down that swordsman and the crossbow woman, there wouldn't be a trace left.

Not that I had a map anyway—finding the exact spot again would have been a pain.

Having no idea where we even were was driving me up the wall.

There had been one small haul, at least. I'd made Serena harvest the Magic Stone from the labyrinth rat I'd just killed. She'd whined endlessly about getting blood on her hands. But if you're riding the bus, that much labor is the bare minimum fare.

That was when we rounded a corner.

Tak.

A person stood right in front of us.

Alone. A man decked out in gleaming armor from head to toe, a sword that looked expensive at a glance hanging at his hip, a bulky pack strapped to his back.

Hmm. Looks like this guy's no pushover.

I approached slowly, on guard. He was studying us just as carefully. He spoke first.

"Rookie explorers?"

I answered curtly.

"And if we are?"

"A martial artist and two mages… unusual party makeup."

His eyes were full of suspicion.

"Just keep walking."

I kept my tone blunt, as if I had no interest in a fight.

"Hey, I'm only trying to give you some advice. It's dangerous out here."

The man chuckled, completely at ease. He clearly thought we were harmless beginners. If anything, he looked worried about us—which made sense. We were wandering around with no gear and no bags, just the two of us.

I glanced sideways at Serena. Her eyes were trembling wildly.

Could that man beat this monster?

If I sided with him, could I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠get out of here alive?

The calculations spinning behind her face were obvious. But fear of my slap kept her mouth shut for now.

"You look like you've spent a fair amount of time in the labyrinth. Coming up from below?"

I edged a little closer as I asked.

"That's right. Figured I'd breathe some surface air for a change. Staying buried down here too long is bad for your mental health."

He spoke with open pride, showing off his flashy equipment.

"Then there's something I'm curious about."

"Hm? What?"

"How much farther to the second-floor entrance?"

His brow furrowed.

"What do you mean… are you two wandering the first floor without a map?"

"Just answer the question."

"Hah. Rookies who don't even know how terrifying the labyrinth is. Don't go causing accidents—just turn around and leave."

He clicked his tongue in disbelief. Then, like some lecturing senior, he casually rested the hand that had been on his sword hilt on my shoulder.

Now.

At this distance he wouldn't even have time to draw.

A sudden flash—

I whipped my hand up without warning. Confusion flickered across his eyes. An instant later my palm exploded against his face.

CRACK—!!!!!!

"Ghk—!"

His body spun a full circle in the air before slamming into the ground.

WHAM!

For good measure I cracked him across the face again where he lay sprawled.

THUD!!!!

The second slap snapped his head completely to the side. Whether he was out cold or already dead, he didn't so much as twitch.

"A guy who looked that competent should at least be carrying a map."

He wasn't going to hand it over politely if I asked. So force it was.

I rifled through his clothes with a smirk. In the labyrinth, people are the most dangerous thing of all—and this idiot still hadn't learned that.

"You monster! Are you planning to kill every single person you meet!?"

Serena stared at me with pure disgust, eyes brimming, voice rising in a furious whine.

I snorted.

"Good thing you didn't betray me."

"…What?"

"If you'd opened your mouth and put him on guard, it would've been a real pain."

My expression went flat. I looked her straight in the eye.

"I'm honestly relieved I didn't lose our Serena here."

Whether she understood the warning or not, her face drained of color. She hunched in on herself and clamped her mouth shut.

I started properly looting the fallen man. This guy was carrying a lot. The dazzling armor didn't fit me, so I skipped it. The expensive-looking longsword looked like it would sell, so that went into the keep pile. The pack was seriously heavy. When I opened a large pouch, Magic Stones poured out by the handful. He must have planned to live it up on the surface.

There was also a water bottle, bread, even a blanket. A real explorer's full starter package was on a completely different level.

I cracked the bottle open first and gulped water greedily to kill the vicious thirst.

Ahhh~~~

The taste wasn't anything special, but after how dry my throat had been, it didn't matter.

"Want some?"

I held the bottle out to Serena. She was thirsty enough that she took it without complaint and drank.

Having a proper explorer starter kit in hand finally let my shoulders relax.

"Thanks, Golden Goblin!"

I offered the corpse a light moment of silence, then dug deeper into the pack.

Rustle—.

Found it. The map I'd wanted most of all.

There were two sheets. Unfolded, they were fairly large—winding maze-like paths drawn in careful detail. One for the first floor, one for the second.

I studied the maps and asked Serena,

"Is the second floor structured like the first?"

"…Yes. The second floor is a maze-like cave the same way. Only the monsters that appear are different."

"I see."

Something odd suddenly struck me.

"One more thing. You said towers leading into the labyrinth are all over the surface, right?"

"Yes. Almost every major city has them scattered around."

"Then there should be a ton of explorers. Why don't we run into them more often down here?"

All we'd met so far were Serena's former party members and this guy.

She answered in a defeated little voice.

"That's… from what I've heard, each floor has hundreds of identical spaces existing in parallel, like parallel worlds."

"Ah. So that's how it is."

A deeper structure than I'd expected. Meaning the same first-floor layout was split into hundreds of copies. I clicked my tongue. We really had fallen into one hell of a strange place.

I repacked the competent explorer's bag and shoved it at Serena. Her face scrunched up another notch, but I didn't care. Bus passengers carry the luggage—that's just how it works.

We had a map now. But there was still one critical problem.

I still need to know where the hell we are.

Current location: unknown.

I started matching the surrounding terrain against the map, hoping the second-floor entrance wasn't too far.

"Ah, shit. Not here either."

One failure after another. I kept walking and flipping through the map, comparing every winding wall and fork in exhaustive detail.

"Found it! This is the place!"

At last the terrain matched.

"Whew… thank goodness."

Serena, trailing behind, let out a relieved sigh of her own; she looked just as worn out.

No reason to delay now that we knew where we were. I headed straight for the second-floor entrance.

Squeak-squeak—!

Labyrinth rats appeared along the path. Annoying. I casually backhanded the ones that came too close.

Thwack—!

I skipped the Magic Stones. Even the time to harvest them felt wasted. Getting down as fast as possible was the priority.

After walking for some time, the view opened up into a wide ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠clearing. The end of the maze. The entrance to the second floor.

A magic circle sat in the center of the open space—a circular array that looked a lot like the escape circle I'd seen at the first-floor entrance.

"I just put a Magic Stone in the middle to activate it, right?"

"Yes, that's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠correct. Stand on it and place the stone."

Serena and I stepped onto the circle without hesitation. I pulled a Magic Stone from a pouch and set it dead center.

Wooooong—!

The circle began to blaze with fierce light. At the same time a blue status window bloomed in front of my eyes.

KRRRRMMM!

My vision flashed pure white. For a single instant a strange sensation wrapped my entire body, as if I were drifting through space.

And then—

Thud!

"Ugh."

When my senses returned, I was once again inside a tightly enclosed underground cave. The walls of the maze were a shade darker. We had arrived on the second floor.

That was when it happened.

Ding—!

A clear mechanical chime rang in my ears. Another status window appeared before my eyes.

Oh. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠So they even hand out rewards just for reaching the second floor.

The swell of anticipation lasted only a moment.

The status window started acting up again. The letters glitched and shuddered like mad.

Crackle, pop—!

Something like tiny sparks danced in front of my eyes, and a new message printed itself out.

Ding—!

The list stretched on without end. When I touched the screen it scrolled smoothly downward.

Normally one of these would be randomly selected and that would be that. But the errored screen showed no sign of stopping. I could freely press whatever I wanted.

"…Huh?"

The corner of my mouth slowly curled upward.

What is this?

I can just keep picking whatever I want?